FUTURE-BRITAIN-6 BURNT TOAST OR WARM TEACAKES ?

An essay by Michael Bassey December 2016

ENVOI: A CONVIVIAL REVOLUTION ?

There can
be little doubt that the economy of the future will be different from that of
today. Whether my “new framework”
proposals are naïve and ridiculous, or practical and possible must be decided
by the reader. I believe that keeping
fossil fuels underground, introducing citizen’s income, developing communities,
and educating for a cultural change would be positive moves for the UK and, by
analogy, for the other industrial countries.
Conviviality seems an appropriate ethos for these to happen. To those that dismiss these ideas I ask, what
are your proposals?

To survive,
I believe that humankind must begin to eschew the pursuit of further wealth and
instead seek for quality of life for all. If we can connect the natural
conviviality of people with the reality of political action, progress just
might be made towards sustainable, peaceful and just societies throughout the
world for our grandchildren - and for theirs.

Or to put it as expressed on the opening page of this essay: in the face of global warming
we should avoid the disaster of burnt toast and, to
resolve the gross inequalities of today, settle not for the unrealistic promise
of iced gateaux, but for the modest pleasure of teacakes, in the knowledge that
they will be warm, hopefully not overheated, and can be shared by all !

Perhaps
future historians will describe how the Industrial Revolution was followed by convivial action on the ideas behind these slogans: